Gandhinagar, May 21: Families across Gujarat are rejoicing as the Gujarat Police’s Operation Milap has successfully located 701 missing individuals in just two weeks. This initiative, launched to find people missing since 2007, has brought smiles to many faces.
The operation has reunited a long-lost daughter with her family and a mother with her child after years apart. One family, which had given up hope of finding a relative decades ago, has finally discovered their loved one’s whereabouts.
Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghvi stated, “Under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhupendrabhai Patel, the Gujarat Police initiated a special operation to locate missing persons. All necessary resources have been allocated for this effort. The success of the operation is evident, with 701 individuals found from May 7 to May 21.”
This initiative is guided by Gujarat’s Director General of Police (DGP) Dr. K.L.N. Rao. Launched in the first week of May, the operation directed every police commissioner and district superintendent to reopen, review, and thoroughly investigate long-standing missing persons cases.
According to the Gujarat Police, over 24,767 cases of missing persons have been registered in the state since 2007. Under Operation Milap, police teams are revisiting old files, analyzing data, and gathering digital evidence to reconnect with families searching for their loved ones for years.
Ajay Chaudhary, Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) for CID Crime and Railway (Women’s Cell), remarked, “This operation is strategically planned, utilizing data, technical intelligence, and human intelligence to locate missing individuals. Clear guidelines have been provided to police officials, and these concerted efforts are yielding results in finding those who have been missing for years.”
Among the 701 individuals found in the last two weeks are 19 minor boys, 97 minor girls, 417 women, and 168 men. The police confirmed that the operation will continue.
Officials emphasized that the initiative extends beyond merely locating missing persons. It aims to dismantle criminal networks involved in human trafficking, child trafficking, and the sale of newborns.
One notable case involved a woman who had been missing for ten years, reunited with her child. A 23-year-old married woman from Padra taluka in Vadodara district went missing in 2016 with her five-year-old son. Her husband reported that she had gone to a ghat and did not return.
After a decade, the police reopened the case under Operation Milap and reconnected with the family. The husband mentioned that his wife had been spotted on social media months ago.
Upon investigation, police found that the woman was living in Rajkot with her second husband and running a garba class. Her son, who disappeared with her, is now 15 years old.
In-depth investigations revealed that family disputes led the woman to leave her husband and remarry in Rajkot in 2016. Police officials noted that various life circumstances often contribute to individuals going missing.
A senior police officer stated, “There can be many reasons for disappearance—family disputes, marital issues, exam stress, failed relationships, financial difficulties, and criminal exploitation.”
To aid in locating missing persons, the Gujarat Police has issued a 15-point Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to all police stations.
The SOP includes reopening case files, contacting complainants, examining digital and technical evidence, tracking social media activity, investigating transport hubs and shelters, and interrogating suspected human traffickers and repeat offenders.
Police officials have also been instructed to place missing persons’ mobile phones under electronic surveillance, track their last known locations, and investigate social media activity on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Investigators are examining post-mortem rooms in government hospitals, matching images of unidentified bodies with missing persons records, and questioning previously arrested suspects in kidnapping and human trafficking cases.
Missing persons in Gujarat include women, children, and teenagers. The Gujarat Police is taking this matter seriously. For them, Operation Milap is not just a police operation; it represents a long-awaited reunion for many families.
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